A majority of people see no or little improvement in the Thai economy in 2016 when compared to 2015, according to the result of an opinion poll conducted by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll.
The poll was conducted on Dec 13-15 on 1,255 people aged 18 and over of various levels of education and occupations throughout the country to compile their opinions on the Thai economy in 2016 and the government's economic stimulus measures.
To the question of whether the Thai economy has improved compared to last year, 40.32% of the respondents said they saw no or little improvement; 16.65% said it was even worse than last year; 9% said it was about the same as last year; and, 1.12% were uncertain. Only 28.69% said the economy had fairly improved while 4.22% said it had made considerable improvement.
Asked to comment on the government's cash handouts of 1,500 and 3,000 baht to low-income earners at the end of the year to stimulate the economy, the respondents gave mixed opinions on the measure. Most or 42.15% said the measure was suitable as it would help low-income earners to survive in the present state of economy; 37.21% viewed it as not suitable and without sustainability; 21.04% said it would help spur the economy; 10.12% said it would not be of much help to stimulate the economy; and 9% viewed it as being not different from populist policies of elected governments.
Asked to comment on the government's tax break that will allow shoppers an income-tax deduction of up to 15,000 baht on domestic purchases of goods and services between Dec 14-31, a majority or 43.67% of the respondents said it would help spur the economy; 21.04% said it would cause the people to attach importance to collecting tax invoices; 18.01% viewed it as an unsustainable measure; 17.61% said it would help bring more shops into the value-added tax (VAT) system; 10.52% said it would benefit only major retailers; 8.05% were of the opinion that it would not benefit people who are not eligible for a tax payment; and 5.5% said it would not help stimulate the economy as much as expected.